The Roommate and Company
by Whimsical Symphony
Summary: Unemployed university graduate, Naminé, wants to try testing out her job prospects in the city, Radiant Garden. Her cousin, Kairi, suggests a place for her to live. The only (daunting) issue is that she'd be sharing it with Kairi's ex-boyfriend, Riku. Naminé/Riku
1. The Friendly Ex

**The Roommate and Company**

_Written by Whimsical Symphony_

**Summary: **_Unemployed university graduate, Naminé, wants to try testing out her job prospects in the city, Radiant Garden. Her cousin, Kairi, suggests a place for her to live, the only (daunting) issue being that she'd be sharing it with her ex-boyfriend, Riku._

So, I've already written about 9 chapters of this story. First chapter might confuse people a bit, well, the ending at least with Riku's nosebleed, but it'll make sense in the future. This is a romance story, but it's also a friendship story, and is filled with loads of crappy humour. As such, many other characters like Vanitas play a large role; they're all interesting enough so you won't need to skim past anything. Kairi and Sora will only show up for a part in this chapter, and then will be mentioned until later chapters where they'll play a larger role. It'll have some dark moments in it, as a lot of the characters have stuff to deal with which is less than funny.

This is a test run to see the reaction to the story before I decide to post any more, since I'm pretty unsure about it. My humour may not even be funny, for all I know. Naminé has some sassy inner monologuing even if she's shy and easily flustered, and hopefully that makes her amusing enough. She was really funny to write. And uh… this story has loads of sexual innuendo for jokes. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, don't kill me! That's why I'm putting it under the M tag mostly. It has some inappropriate themes in it.

So… uh, I'm slightly scared to hear what you guys think, but lay it on me anyway! Don't be concerned on my part! I really do love criticism too, and I love to hear anything you might have to say about it. If you want to rip it apart go ahead!

I'm not certain how long this story's going to be and release dates will probably vary since it's a secondary story I'm working on, but I do intend to finish this eventually. I think it's way better than my other Namiku's so I actually intend to.

* * *

**Chapter I – The Friendly Ex**

Naminé didn't know why she'd agreed to Kairi's offer at all, other than the fact that her desperation rose to new levels and she needed a place to live. Now, she stood nervously at an unknown man's doorstep because her cousin set her up. Oh, she heard stories about the man behind the door, but she never actually talked to him. And suddenly, she'd become his potential roommate. Naminé skipped about a billion steps in any normal relationship.

"_My friend, Riku. He'd be glad to have you. He's super nice, you won't have to worry about a thing," _Kairi told her with a wide grin_. _

"_Riku?" _The name sounded awful familiar to her. Then, it clicked._ "__**That**__ Riku?" _she exclaimed, eyes wide.

See, while Naminé never lived in the same town as Kairi before, they talked quite a bit. Kairi had always been the popular one, going to this party and that, and socializing with more people on a daily basis than Naminé knew in total. Kairi had two close friends though; one was Sora, her cheerful friend who soon became her boyfriend (which Naminé lamented still, since she liked him quite a bit even if she only saw him occasionally), and Riku, the friend she dated before yet still managed to remain close with.

So, Kairi apparently sent her to live with her ex. She remembered hearing about arguments they'd had, when Kairi wanted to vent. Additionally, she heard all the dreamy gushing that came with having a crush, even before they started dating.

No matter how someone sick with infatuation looked at the one they grew infatuated with, they only saw someone perfect. That flawless someone sculpted by clay and brought to life by a prodigy like Auguste Rodin.

"_Naminé, you don't understand. He's like Adonis or something. Never thought a guy could be so good looking, and a gentleman to boot! He's so kind and understanding," _Kairi told her with a blush on her cheeks.

Well, it didn't last, obviously. Either they didn't understand each other because they didn't look well enough, like if they looked at a book's cover instead of reading it, or something else happened.

Naminé never heard the details and didn't want to burden her already weary mind by listening to someone else's issues. They broke it off, and eventually Kairi hooked up with Sora – a low blow for Riku who was best friends with him. Naminé sighed, and picked herself up like she always did, since a wallflower like her had to be durable at least, and dealt with it even though she liked Sora a lot, was sick with her own infatuation for him.

She never heard about the _kind_ and _understanding,_ _good-looking, princely _Riku again until after she graduated from Traverse Town U. with a degree in Fine Arts and couldn't find a job.

Naminé dreamed a little too much, never took the most rational route to a good life, was a complete space cadet, and her parents always told her so. She thought that it'd all work out eventually. It didn't. After drinking herself half to death at the local bar (and acting like an idiot by blubbering and spilling her problems to the irritated bartender) and wallowing in self-pity for months, she decided to move to Radiant Garden for more job prospects.

Kairi's town, much to the dismay of her doting family, and wayward, loving brother, Zack who wanted her safe and sound at home.

Hopefully there, Naminé would find more friends too instead of remaining such a hopeless introvert. Thought she could move in with Kairi, she did, but Kairi already lived with Sora. Naminé wanted to exhaust all other options before choosing to live with a really lovey-dovey couple who kissed and hugged and called each other nauseatingly sweet nicknames.

Kairi suggested Riku, her ex and friend, who Naminé'd never seen before to live with. _"He'd be happy to have you, Nams. I'll let him know. His place is really nice too."_

"_Um… okay…" _Naminé agreed reluctantly._ "If you're sure he won't mind."_

Really, she knew she didn't have much of a choice, but she didn't know how she'd manage living with a guy let alone someone who used to date Kairi. Naminé never associated with many people and the few she did, were female… and didn't date Kairi.

Naminé wanted to talk more to people. She really did, but she grew incredibly anxious and always did something stupid she beat herself up over later.

So, now, after ringing Riku's doorbell after buzzing herself into the outrageously fancy building (dear God, it had a piano player playing jazz in the lobby), she shuffled her feet on the floor. She hoped she wouldn't do something to make her potential roommate hate her.

The door opened, Naminé held her breath and clutched her handbag tightly until she could feel the tension in her fingers.

Before she even saw his face, she blurted it all out, "I'm Naminé Fair, Kairi's cousin. I hope I'm not intruding!"

She heard the deep chuckle before the man said, "Alright, that answers my question. Chill out, Kairi told me you'd be coming."

"Thank you very much!" Naminé squeaked, still looking at the carpeted floors of the hallway.

Really, she found herself too nervous to look up, after everything she heard about Riku too. Naminé had no desire to look Adonis in the eye.

"I would like to see the face of my potential roommate. If it's not too much trouble," he said, amused.

He sounded pleasant enough, with a voice made of chocolate – sweet and smooth. But he could've been greasy. Maybe Kairi was so infatuated, she chose to look past his golden tooth filling and extra four-hundred pounds of excess body fat, and a terrible body odor that men working up a sweat at the gym would be ashamed of.

Naminé swallowed once, uncomfortably, and raised her head reluctantly, only to conclude then that Kairi hadn't been lying at all. He neither had a golden tooth, or an extra four-hundred pounds on a tummy fat surpassing a muffin top.

The man in front of her indeed matched the definition of 'drop-dead gorgeous'- lean muscles, piercing aquamarine eyes, silver hair in a stylish chin-length cut, sharp features and flawless skin worthy of even a women's skincare advertisement, without all the extra airbrushing. He dressed well too – a white and grey zippered vest and belted baggy grey pants, both pricy. She expected to find these listed in a fashion magazine under the subtitle 'casual wear' though, when worn, far too uncomfortable for casual wear and a couple thousand dollars over budget.

She looked at her own white dress she bought on clearance and then looked at him again, casually leaning against the wall, unintentionally appearing like a Burberry model. Naminé wouldn't know how to survive when her inferiority complex reared its ugly head in the presence of a disgustingly attractive roommate.

If she had him back in Traverse Town U, no doubt she would have gotten top marks on her final Life Drawing project. Not that her grades mattered now, considering she was jobless and all.

That said, people who dressed like "bad boys" sort of intimidated Naminé. More than most people. And Adonis here definitely dressed like the stereotypical one she remembered girls in her high school giggling about.

"You're cute," he concluded with a sly smile. Naminé's cheeks burned. He narrowed his eyes again and scrutinized her closely, much to her embarrassment. "You look a lot like Kairi. But, you know, blonde." He looked sort of uncomfortable when he said this. Naminé suspected that no matter how good a breakup, it must've been hard for anyone to talk about their ex. Especially when Kairi might've exaggerated when she said it went well. She hooked up with his _best friend_ for crying out loud. He stuck out his hand. "Riku Valentine. It's sweet meeting you, Naminé. I think I hit jackpot with you."

A flirtatious one. Even though he probably didn't mean it, Naminé admitted he was one smooth operator.

He smirked, and took her hand before she could take his. His skin was as soft as it looked, completely different from her own chronic dry skin on the palms of her hands due to abuse from art. Heat crept up onto her cheeks when she realized she touched him. Naminé knew _he _knew that she was nervous as heck. Maybe Kairi warned him or something about her social anxiety, and he'd think of her as less of a weirdo.

"Yeah… people say we look alike. Family resemblance, right? Haha…" Naminé said rather lamely. "Um… nice to meet you too, Riku. Hope I won't be a nuisance."

She chose not to address his flirting. Really, Naminé wondered what she would have said, '_I'm cute_? Look at _you_!' Then he'd either shoo her away for acting creepy, or he'd decide to try to seduce her – the latter option having a possibility close to zero, because she didn't have the appeal that Kairi did. And she didn't do relationships.

Or sexual relationships. Or anything like that because the thought frankly embarrassed her.

She liked being alone.

Really, she wanted to feel around in her purse for a roll of duct tape, to tape her own mouth shut. Everything that came out of her pie-hole sounded stupid. And everything in her mind, now that she thought about it.

"Relax, Naminé. Don't want you feeling so uncomfortable in your own home," Riku joked with her, gesturing for her to come inside, which she did hesitantly. He shut the door behind her. "Well, that is, if you like it and all. And me," he added rather unnecessarily with a mischievous smile.

But she could smell his self-confidence. He oozed it like melted chocolate out of a well-baked lava cake. Like, 'how could you _not _like me?' She frowned at that. Of course, all good looking specimens had to have some major character flaw.

Nonetheless, Naminé blushed and felt a tingle travel down her spine, like a million tap dancing spiders or something equally ridiculous. She wanted to go dig up a hole for herself to hide in. She couldn't believe she was acting like a pre-teen girl at the age of twenty-one. Naminé wanted to believe she passed the point in her life where any sort of affection meant the world to her, especially when it came from someone who normally would look right past her.

But then she remembered, inside, she probably compared to said insecure preteen girl since she sure acted like one when Sora started to date Kairi.

"So, I can show you around then. You can just leave your shoes in the entryway."

Riku's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked in front of her, in awe. Even the entryway was large and spacious, and everything so far looked incredibly expensive, especially the cherry-wood floors and the sleek, modern furniture. Riku led her to the sectioned off kitchen, full of stainless-steel appliances which he admitted he didn't use, and a breakfast bar from the living area.

Naminé could see the whole city through the large window which replaced a wall on the far side. Bright, airy, and a beautiful view she couldn't help but admire.

"Nice, isn't it? You can see everything from here," Riku told her when she put her palms on the glass and looked outside in awe. "Lots of light."

"A… dark place would've been kind of uncomfortable. But I would've dealt with it. Just want to live in Radiant Garden…" Naminé answered unthinkingly, looking at the marvelous, translucent skyline, and all the little people below walking dogs and travelling.

From the window, they looked like chess pieces. Or the little pegs used in the Game of Life, complete with the colourful board.

"Well, you won't have to now," Riku reassured her. "The apartment's always bright." He looked at her, nearly pressing the tip of her nose against the glass from so high up, and chuckled. "Man, you look like a kid getting her first glimpse inside a candy store."

Naminé turned away from the glass and looked at him, finding this all amusing. She frowned, and blushed.

"Not a bad thing, trust me. It's cute," he told her before laughing again and gesturing for her to follow him.

At least he was friendly enough. And even though he flirted shamelessly, Naminé didn't get those red flags she often got from sleazy old men looking for a 'good time' because she was 'so cute'. Riku clearly was friendly, and Kairi still got along well with him.

"The bedrooms are up these stairs. There're three, you can pick either one of the two guest bedrooms," Riku explained to her, leading her up a short flight of stairs to a small railed hallway that looked down upon the main living space. "Bathroom's on the far side, and this is my room," he pointed to the door. He saw her looking at the door and then teased, "What, you want to see my room?"

"I'm… I'm okay." Naminé blushed and looked at the ground.

"Oh, sorry, just joking. People always tell me I'm a little too out there. Probably shouldn't be joking around if there's a girl living with me…" Riku said a little sheepishly.

"No… it's okay. I know you're a good person. Nothing's wrong," Naminé told him honestly. Strangely enough, though he oozed self confidence, he also had the social tact to act considerate towards her. She gave him a quick smile in thanks. With someone who felt so anxious around everyone, he reassured her greatly. "Thank you…"

"No problem." He led her into the second door, and gave her a wide smile. "So, what do you think?"

"It's beautiful," Naminé said honestly, looking around the large room from the deep red curtains, to the canopy bed, the vanity and the small couch to sit on and read. "It's… thank you…" Really, she never expected living in a place so nice when she didn't even have a job.

"Glad you like it. Does that mean you'll live here?" Riku asked, eyeing his shy potential roommate.

Naminé bit her lip and asked, "How much is rent?"

She did have to bite the bullet and ask. The place looked like a million bucks. And if she didn't have the money to afford his 'casual clothes' worth a couple thousand dollars, she couldn't afford a million dollar place.

Riku shook his head and said, "It's chill, don't worry about it. I'm not really in any need for money and this was more a favour to Kairi." He looked at the floor a moment before looking at her again, and saying, "I'll just trust you to buy groceries and toiletries. How about it?"

Naminé wanted to pinch herself to check if she was dreaming. "Pardon?"

"Not good?" Riku asked, looking at her a bit concerned.

So he really did say what she thought he did. "It's _too good_ to be true! I have to pay somehow," Naminé protested.

She already felt like enough of a charity case and didn't want to burden Riku in any way, especially since he already seemed so good he was willing to take in his ex's cousin.

Naminé already knew they looked alike. Riku pointed it out himself. Even if those two still remained friends, he probably didn't know how to react seeing a blonde Kairi asking him for a place to live. Well, a Kairi who happened to be basically a loser in the social aspect of life, but the point still stood.

"Don't worry about it. Just make yourself comfortable. I'm not strapped for cash." Riku reassured her with a pat on the shoulder.

She could see that. She expected to live in a hole in the wall when she came to Radiant Garden, not a condominium located in the best part of the city with all the music and entertainment. This place had women in pretty cocktail dresses and heels walking with men in tuxedos, throwing one hundred dollar bills in fountains, unlike regular people who just wished upon pennies in the more average areas of town.

Or, in Hollow Bastion, the "hood", people horded said pennies in holes in the walls, hoping to buy a condominium in the best part of the city. Naminé expected to be one of these people.

Naminé narrowed her eyes, quite ready to give this guy a piece of her mind. But then, she withered under his frown. Riku knew how to get his way without doing anything at all. Seemed like he wouldn't accept any payment from her, and though that was a good thing, she couldn't help but feel ashamed. She remembered him saying he didn't really cook because he couldn't and then jumped at the chance.

"Fine, but I'll cook meals for us, okay? And buy groceries and toiletries." Naminé stated firmly (well, as firmly as someone like her could manage, it came out as more of a squeak, especially when he started smirking again).

"That's cool with me. I'm sick of ordering in anyway." Riku shrugged and pulled out his phone. "Stuff at Kairi and Sora's?"

Naminé nodded. Riku dialed the number. Somehow, even though he made her feel well and comfortable, she didn't know how to feel about living with him.

* * *

Kairi and Sora greeted her at the door a while later, and helped her to move in her stuff. They unloaded her suitcases and boxes from the trunk and backseat of Sora's car.

Her cousin looked exactly like Naminé remembered her- delicate, immaculate makeup, well-dressed, and probably could reign in a rich businessman if she so much as spared him a glance on the street – dangerously pretty.

The girl greeted her with a bear-hug and prattled on then about her new roommate. Clearly, she looked a little uncomfortable to be seeing him, even if they were friends. Kairi did tend to act obnoxiously optimistically sometimes. Just imagining the gloomy mess Riku probably was inside, made her feel a bit nauseous.

"It's so nice that you guys are getting along. See, Naminé, I told you Riku was a good guy," Kairi prattled on, grinning so widely Naminé might've thought her face would split in two.

Naminé remembered she also called him a God, a hot piece of man, a sexy son of a bitch and a few other choice names but that was beside the point. What really did matter was that he was a _good guy_. Indeed, it did matter, since she didn't want to live with a sleaze or a jerk, and he seemed pretty accommodating so far.

Also, she could look at him since she found him aesthetically pleasing in a completely platonic sense (as platonic as one could get while acknowledging someone like him attractive), and hope that one day he'd let a poor Fine Arts graduate draw him.

"Thanks for helping me bring my stuff over, Sora, Kairi," Naminé said graciously, as the two of them moved into the apartment, rolling her suitcases full of clothes.

She really didn't want to know how awkward Riku must've felt meeting them. She knew Riku and Kairi had been pretty serious, going strong for about two years before whatever happened… well, happened. And as soon as she thought that Riku came through the door, carrying a large box of a few choice books and art supplies she wanted to take along. Tension did form around them a bit thickly, and Naminé didn't doubt that she could cut it with a knife.

"It's cool, Nami. It's going to be awesome having you live near us now. The old days were good days," Sora commented with his signature grin.

What he said just depressed Naminé more. Sora was so utterly adorable, with his friendly smile and perpetual bedhead. And he was really cute too, in the boy-next-door sort of way (an extremely attractive boy-next-door, and friendly too: an all-around _good guy_).

Naminé liked him for the longest time – since the old days when he used to buy them sea-salt ice cream, and ruffle her hair, and play with her and Kairi at the beach. Too bad he went and got with Kairi, even if it'd been kind of expected. He really only did see Naminé as a sister, much to her disappointment.

Naminé hoped during the days Kairi'd been with Riku that she'd stay with him. But her luck sucked. Since then, trying to seem happy for them had been the most difficult and tedious chore. She expected Riku probably felt the same way about it all, but one hundred times worse since he'd been in a relationship with Kairi rather than just pining after her like Naminé did with Sora. Now that she thought about it, it was kind of sad.

"Yeah, they really were," Naminé said softly, enjoying the feeling of Sora hugging her.

"You knew Naminé before?" Riku asked curiously, setting down the box near the couch. He stretched then, giving Naminé a nice view of the muscles on his stomach.

She turned away immediately and flushed a horrible shade of red. Riku looked at her curiously and then gave her a wink and a sly smile, much to her shock. Well, it was entirely his fault that he practically flashed her by stretching like that.

"Yeah, she used to visit Kairi a few times a year back in high school and less during university. Kind of stupid she never met you before now, huh?" Sora told him scratching his chin. He placed the suitcase next to the box and settled himself on the leather couch across from the wall-mounted TV.

"Mhm, those were the good old days. Say, why didn't she meet you before now?" Kairi asked Riku, a little reluctantly, moving to sit beside her boyfriend.

Naminé saw just fine that Kairi had been about as desperate to start a normal conversation with him, as Naminé had been to find a place to live. She clasped her hands rightly together on her lap and looked down immediately when Riku looked at her. He noticed too, as he opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it.

Watching those two fascinated Naminé.

"My family always went on trips during the holidays, remember? Kind of a relief now that I don't have to deal with that crap anymore." Riku gave Naminé a glance, which made her flush and look at her feet. "And now I've finally met Naminé who Kairi wouldn't shut up about. Heard a lot about you."

"All good things?" Naminé asked weakly, with a nervous smile.

"Definitely," Riku told her, moving to sit on the couch, lounging like some sort of jungle cat, resting his chin on his palm. Naminé couldn't help but admire him again since he looked so regal, and elegant, and so _pretty _to put it bluntly. If he heard her thoughts, he'd probably find her odd and kick her to the curb immediately. No one wanted to live with a creeper. And art didn't count as a valid excuse these days. "Though Kairi mentioned you're shy. And probably even more because you're living with a guy now. I'll try to make it bearable for you, promise."

Sora stifled a laugh and mentioned, "It's okay, it'll be like living with a girl. He takes ages in the bathroom in the mornings. Takes a while for him to get his hair to shine like it does."

Lips twisting into a mocking smile, Riku swung arm around Sora's shoulder and began to mess up his hair, to which the other protested rather vehemently. "Remember Sora? You used a hell of a lot of hair gel to keep your hair up in high school." When he stopped, Sora's hair still looked the same, just as spiked, probably just as much hair gel. "I'm guessing it's the same."

"Shut up, Riku," Sora said, frowning and crossing his arms. "At least my hair isn't as glossy as a girl's."

"At least my hair doesn't have shit loads of product in it."

As they started arguing like best friends often did, Kairi exclaimed to Naminé, "Don't they bicker like a married couple?"

Both of them shot Kairi a glare. She didn't pay any attention to them, quite content to just smile at Naminé.

"Uh…sure…" Naminé muttered, feeling rather overwhelmed with all the eyes on her. Clearly, this wasn't the right thing to say, as the two promptly shut up, and the heavy atmosphere in the room rose to even higher levels. Desperate to fill the awkward silence (kind of already filled with this unbelievable tension between Riku and Kairi) she said, "Maybe I should cook dinner now… we could all have it."

They remained silent for a moment longer. Riku looked away from Kairi and rested his head on the couch's armrest. Kairi looked similarly despondent and fiddled with the cuffs of her frilly designer top, before biting her lip and turning her gaze to Naminé. Sora looked like he didn't understand, but Naminé remembered him being strangely observant. He probably did know, just didn't show it.

Who couldn't be aware of the tension when he knew quite well that Riku used to be his girlfriend's boyfriend?

"Actually, Sora and I've got to head home. Have some errands to take care of. But I hate turning down an offer for your cooking, Nami – you'll probably end up winning Iron Chef or something in the future." Kairi honestly looked disappointed as she got up and picked up her purse. But even so, Naminé saw how quickly she did this. "It's been nice seeing you again too, Ri."

Riku nodded in response and sighed a little.

"Damn, Naminé makes the best food," Sora commented, which made Naminé's heart soar, even though she knew it was wrong and all, considering he was with her cousin. Snap out of it, she told herself. He followed Kairi out to the entrance, along with the slightly dejected Riku. "It's been good seeing you, Nami. Don't be a stranger." He looked at Riku and said, "'Ri, take good care of her."

"Who do you think I am? I'm responsible as shit – Naminé's in good hands," he joked in that cocky manner of his that Naminé experienced first-hand at the front door. He looked at Kairi then, biting his lip. "Hey, Kai, it was nice seeing you. All of us should hang sometime. We haven't done anything in a while."

When he talked to Kairi, suddenly, to Naminé, he didn't seem quite so smooth anymore. He looked like a flustered schoolboy. All that confidence he had radiating in waves, just vanished suddenly, like it hadn't even existed. Then, she knew, what happened between them must've been bad.

_So bad_, that Kairi covered it up with optimism.

_So bad_, that she chose to ignore it and try to act like friends.

And _so bad_, she didn't let the closest people to her know.

"Yeah… sure. It was nice to see you too, Riku," Kairi offered with a weak smile. Then giving a nod to Naminé, she quickly left.

"See you around, guys. Call us up if you need anything," Sora said with the wide grin she loved so much before chasing after his girlfriend. "Hey, wait up, Kai."

Riku shut the door after they left. They left some sort of emptiness behind. She didn't like it. Especially because those two left her and Riku alone while he looked like a dark cloud loomed over him.

* * *

Naminé ended up cooking some pasta while Riku kept her company. It was odd how her day had started off so happy, and even though it wasn't necessarily sad now, it was _odd_– just like she expected it to be with Kairi's ex. Except, she expected to feel this strangeness more when she knocked on his door, but he welcomed her in, all affection and smiles and teasing, playful flirting that made her think he would have made a damn good host.

Meeting Sora again and feeling the distress radiating off Riku in waves cooked up a horribly messed up concoction in her stomach. Desperation to puke it all up in the bathroom took hold of her.

"You know we dated," Riku said with a small frown on his lips.

"Yeah, um… Kairi and I talk a lot. So I knew of you before I came here," Naminé explained, turning up the heat on the stove to get the pasta to boil faster. "I thought… it was a little insensitive of her to send me to live with her ex."

"Figures. Well, what's done is done. Don't think I'm not happy to have you here. It was getting a little lonely here, truth be told," he said. He sounded sincere too. "And don't blame Kai for it. I was the one who broke up with her."

"Why?" Naminé asked, even though she had a niggling feeling as to why.

"She always liked Sora."

He didn't offer anything more.

So her suspicions proved true. Even though Kairi gushed about Riku a lot, whenever she talked about Sora, her tone changed. It became loving instead of just shallow ramblings of a girl with a crush. Naminé took a look at Riku then, who sat on the barstool looking pretty exhausted. He only dealt with Kairi for a short time and he already looked this way. Naminé never got this bad when dealing with her unsaid feelings for Sora. Pity welled up in her, especially since he took her in as a favour to Kairi.

It was pretty obvious he still liked her, that the police would have arrested her for stealing his heart.

She wondered how Riku sounded when he talked about Kairi back then. Naminé imagined, with how heartbroken he seemed, that the way he talked about her must have been the way Kairi talked about Sora. How painful it must have been, to have been in a relationship with someone when you were more invested than them, much more, and when you knew they loved someone else.

Naminé didn't answer him and instead backtracked on the conversation. "I'm… happy to be here too… it was getting a little lonely in Traverse Town…"

"Well it's not that bad now that we're roommates, right?" Riku offered with a smile. "No more getting lonely then."

Yeah, she thought, they could both get drunk together. She always heard of the stories where the understanding bartender acted like more of a therapist and listened to the local drunk's problems. The man at the pub she frequented in Traverse Town never did that for her no matter how many rum and cokes she drank.

Without the alcohol in her, Naminé found it hard to cry, especially over a subject which haunted her like some stupid ghost that refused to pass on. Her life, at the age of twenty-one, felt like it'd hit an obstacle impossible to pass. And for a moment she regretted wasting those years at university studying Fine Arts, no matter how she enjoyed it.

When she drank, she cried about it more, and weirdly enough, she could walk, move, whatever, or it gave her the illusion of doing so, and she didn't feel that empty, lost feeling she normally felt.

Naminé never told anyone because even she knew that sounded like the words of an alcoholic (even if two shots got her drunk) seeking justification. But nothing fulfilled her anymore. Enjoyable moments grew dull, and more colourless with each passing day. And sometimes, she even grew jealous of Kairi because she sounded so _cheery _on the phone.

Naminé poured the sauce over the pasta and stirred, after straining it. She added the vegetables she sautéed and poured two servings. Sticking forks in them both, she handed one bowl to Riku, before sitting beside him on a bar stool.

"Hope you enjoy," she told him.

She didn't think she'd ever get used to talking to him. It was hard, with the silence just about killing her, so she really didn't know what to do to make anything more bearable.

"Don't worry, I'm not normally so gloomy. I should suck it up, huh?"

Naminé looked up at Riku, who smiled, a little forced. She knew she couldn't be a hypocrite when her own thoughts went to her months of borderline alcoholism and depression which still persisted too. She knew better than anyone it was hard to _suck it up. _You couldn't help your emotions. They played a part in making a person who they were. For better or worse.

"You shouldn't. It's… it's bad to keep things bottled inside," Naminé whispered softly. She held her fork so tightly that her fingers hurt, so she could feel the strain in them like a bow pulled back all the way. "Just let it out when you can."

She didn't want to see him deteriorate slowly and become her. Even if she doubted he would. Looking at herself now became quite difficult and she knew that simple deterioration wouldn't cause him to become her. It took much more than that. Riku already looked loads stronger than frail little her who'd stumble at the slightest impact.

"You're right," Riku smiled at her. "First time anyone's not told me to just let it all go."

"You will, just not right now," Naminé advised sensibly, looking at her hands in her lap so she wouldn't throw up from embarrassment. "It'll take some time, you can't think you can let it all go immediately."

"That's true. I'll get better." Riku glanced at the quiet girl from the corner of his eye. "And so'll you, right?"

"Right," Naminé answered determinedly. He didn't know, but this was a new beginning for her. No more moping.

No more hoping for fate to make her life better.

Riku ate a forkful of pasta and exclaimed, "Kairi wasn't kidding when she said you could win Iron Chef."

"You do know I found that pasta sauce in your cupboard, right?" Naminé pointed out. "I just put all the parts together."

Riku blinked, then shrugged. "Better than what I could do." He looked at her a moment. "Cute, talented and wise? What a rare combination."

Naminé flushed and Riku laughed, before she reluctantly joined in nervously. It'd probably take her some times to get used to his teasing. All gloom cleared to make room for just a small tunnel of light, no more than a pinprick – one star on a blanket of darkness that shone brightly.

Naminé thought maybe she should've gone to cooking school instead of pursuing Fine Arts. By now, she could've been one of those rich, millionaire chefs, yelling at people for their horrid cooking ability on her own television program.

When she looked at Riku, she gasped. "You're bleeding!" She pulled out several tissues from the nearby box of them on the counter and practically shoved them up his nose like a makeshift drain stopper. He seemed pretty calm for someone who'd just been bleeding. "Nosebleeds common?"

Riku hummed, not at all bothered. "It's the dry air and seasonal allergies." He smirked. "Don't worry I'm not a pervert."

Naminé really didn't think he was, even if he shoved that thought into her mind like she shoved tissues up his nose. Regardless of that, they continued to eat, well after Riku pinched the bridge of his nose and kept his head down to stop the bleeding. A common occurrence, Naminé thought. With that kind of shock, he could've sent her into cardiac arrest. Thank the Gods that despite her timidity, she hadn't gotten scared of blood yet. Because hell, that stuff _poured_ like an open faucet or like boogers would from a child with a runny nose and lacked tissue.


	2. Getting Priorities Straight

**The Roommate and Company**

_Written by Whimsical Symphony_

**Summary:**_Unemployed university graduate, Naminé, wants to try testing out her job prospects in the city, Radiant Garden. Her cousin, Kairi, suggests a place for her to live. The only (daunting) issue is that she'd be sharing it with Kairi's ex-boyfriend, Riku._

So I've received a couple PMs asking when I was going to post the next chapter. My universal answer for it all is that I have to smooth out a lot of my writing. This chapter has been done for a while so I'll post this now. I'm more satisfied with this one than I am with later chapters. I kind of want to keep the tone I had going in the first chapter – lighthearted but not too lighthearted. Even though generally this is a story I'm doing for fun and I don't want it to be bigger than itself. I definitely agree that this story really doesn't bring anything new to the table. I have my other stories for more serious writing, this was more of a fun friendship story I wanted to do.

Also, here's your first snippet of Vanitas. He plays a larger role in this story and is close enough to being a main character. It's not just about Riku and Naminé. He's an idiot, and will only be more of an idiot the more the story progresses though I think he has the most character development out of anyone in this story. That is if I stick with some of the stuff I had planned originally while I smooth out my writing.

Also the extras are at the end of some chapters. Think of it as a chance to learn more about some of the other characters who wouldn't have the perspective written from their point of view. Generally they're pretty much useless though, but some events from the extras will be referenced in the actual story in passing. They're sort of part of the story, but not that important.

Updates for this story I'm trying to keep further apart since it's a side story I'm working on. Not this far apart, of course, but far enough. It's kind of episode-y in nature and more lighthearted. At least I hope with 6000+ word chapters it's worth it.

I do love all constructive criticism you have to offer. All the reviews thus far have made me exceedingly happy. Even if it's negative, I love the fact that you've taken the time to write a review for me. I really pay off from the advice.

* * *

**Chapter II – Getting Priorities Straight**

The week passed by quickly for Naminé. She never saw her roommate as much as she thought she would, considering that first day where it seemed like they'd become the best of friends, or well, _really _friendly from Riku's end at least, with his cocky, confident flirting. He enjoyed getting a rise out of her. And not best friends who bickered like a married couple, like Sora and Riku… well, a _cheating_ married couple, or whatever they were while they both liked Kairi.

Naminé thought it meant something that she stopped his bleeding like a hero that day.

Contrary to Riku's slacker appearance, the man worked a lot. She never found out where he worked, but did find out he worked as an editor.

Though she thought that editors wouldn't live in a place like this. His family must have been rolling in dough.

He left to work in the morning and sometimes didn't get back until late at night. Riku said it was time to make their publishing catalogue for the season, so it was a bit hectic choosing which manuscripts to make the cut and present to his colleagues.

Also, contrary to his appearance, Riku seemed like the ideal roommate (besides him, you know, not actually being there most of the time.) He was neat and tidy (mostly because he wasn't home enough to make a mess), he didn't have house parties (for the same reason), he didn't invite girls over to have sex (he probably did it elsewhere), and he always locked the bathroom door so Naminé wouldn't walk in on him accidentally (the rare times he actually was around to use it.)

In short, he was the perfect roommate because of his lack of presence. Riku wasn't around at home to actually create some sort of ruckus, the typical roommate drama that Naminé prepared herself to deal with by reminding herself about making a list of roommate boundaries.

But, the atmosphere was always _too clean _and _too quiet _and _too stifling_. The apartment reminded her of a sterilized hospital. Even though she wanted a job, she didn't want that atmosphere at home. It was lonely, and gave her an odd sort of anxiety, being in this place by herself.

Naminé always left dinner on the counter for him so he'd have something to eat when he got home late at night, just like she did this night. She left the hot breaded, Dijon mustard breaded fish fillet and side of mashed potatoes on a plate, and pulled out a pen and pad of sticky notes.

_Work hard and don't forget to eat. Heat it up if you get back late, _she wrote neatly in blue pen, before sticking the note right in front of the plate.

Naminé indeed felt empty, hollowed out like a Jack O' Lantern, at the thought that despite being a roommate in name, in reality she couldn't be a _mate_ to someone who was hardly in the same _room _as her.

She wondered if it was silly, expecting to spend more time with him. But then she cursed herself for acting like such a leech already. It was enough that Riku let the cousin of his ex who sort of resembled her live in his house. He didn't have to spend more time with her if he felt it to be too troublesome.

The only reason she acted this way was since she didn't have anything to do. Idleness reminded her again that she came for a new beginning, yet it still didn't seem so fresh. It seemed like the new page of a notebook, maybe, with the rest of her life old and already written in. Not a true fresh start, not really.

Naminé wanted to have a job. Anything to get her on her feet at first, and at the least, give her something to do besides burrowing into her sheets and hibernating like a bear in winter.

And she promised herself it'd be a new beginning. For that cause, she printed out about a gazillion copies of her resumes and tried not to feel remorseful over how many trees she so heartlessly used.

"Sometimes, you've got to be a bastard to make it to the top. It's not the time to be kind, Naminé," she reassured herself.

As expected, however, even though she walked in and out of so many stores, she couldn't find a place that even accepted resumes in store. So, wasted paper indeed became _wasted paper_. And she felt guilty even though she probably shouldn't have.

The hair on the back of her arms stood on end as the chill of the air brushed against her skin. Grey clouds blanketed the sky, and soon, the touches of the first raindrops moistened the tip of her nose. Walking a little quicker in order to not get caught in the downpour left enough time for it to continue its assault. Naminé rushed to find shelter, while shivering, and teeth chattering. The folder of resumes almost flew out of her hands, and she kept clutched tightly to her chest. Even so, she heard the pages flapping in the wind, desperately trying to get away from her.

"The world really is against me finding a job," Naminé muttered to herself, while running to get out of the rain, mimicking several others who did the same.

Just a few though, because most people happened to be more well-prepared than her.

The first shop she came too was a classy coffee joint connected to an impossibly large building, a colossus of steel and glass. She opened the door and stepped inside, happy to finally not have the rain pelt down on her and for the folder to not fly out of her grasp. The blast of warm air comforted her, after being out in the cold for hours with little to no success in the job department. Naminé was soaked to the bone – from her spring dress she'd worn to look nice to hand out resumes (even if she chickened out of approaching the managers) to her hair, now a stringy, blonde mess.

"It's cold as hell out there. Want to sit down? You can order a coffee if you want."

Naminé looked at the man who spoke – blonde hair, a charming smile (probably used it to lure in customers), blue eyes and that whole pretty boy look. But his smile looked awful familiar, like she'd seen it before. Something about the nervous butterflies in her stomach felt like a close friend, something she experienced for as long as she could remember.

His nametag said, 'Ventus'.

"Sorry for asking… but, do I know you… Ventus?" Naminé couldn't help but ask, putting a finger on her chin and examining him closely, like he was a cell on a wet mount slide. "I feel like you look familiar…"

The guy raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Are you trying to pick me up?"

Naminé's cheeks burned. Every bit of courage she had basically evaporated the more she heated up, far past boiling point. When he laughed, she knew that'd been his goal – to embarrass her. Suddenly, he reminded her of Riku, except perhaps a bit more casual and less cocky, and he looked more approachable than she would have found Riku if she saw him at a coffee joint.

Naminé found Ventus undeniably friendly.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. Here take a seat." He all but pulled her over to a nice round café table, smiling all the while. Naminé admired the furnishing in the store, nice dark wood, and beige coloured walls. Seemed quite pleasant, even with the rain fall outside. The soft rock music filled the room, performed by a blonde man who looked to be enjoying himself very much, added a nice sort of ambiance. "So, here's the menu." The man pulling her handed her a menu once she sat down. "What would you like?"

Naminé looked at all the choices but just pulled her lips into a thin line. She'd always been sort of indecisive – and the French Vanilla Cappuccino and Vanilla Bean Latte both looked so good. After a day filled to the brim with failure, she thought that she deserved a cup full of sugar to make herself feel better.

Especially since she vowed to stop travelling down the path of alcoholism.

"Let me guess, you want a date, right? You're going to have to order off the menu for that."

Naminé turned to look at his smirking face and protested, rather embarrassed, "No you really do remind me of a friend of mine named Sora. Honest, I'm not trying to pick you up!"

"Sora? As in, Sora Sinclair?" Her server's eyes widened. Naminé nodded, a little overwhelmed with Ventus' enthusiasm. Ventus pointed at himself and grinned widely. "I'm his brother. Well, he has three brothers, but I'm one of them."

"Three brothers?" Naminé's eyes widened.

Now she knew why Sora always rushed to get his fill at the dinner table. He always grabbed the pizza like it was survival of the fittest when he, Kairi and Naminé spent time together. In his house, it probably was. Teenage boys had bottomless pits for stomachs, and looking at Sora, she could see that he hadn't changed at all.

Naminé thought despondently, that she really knew nothing about Sora yet had the gall to say she liked him. She didn't know anything about Sora, or his relationship with Kairi, or even the incident with Riku which caused him to become a shadow of his former self, hollow like her.

She wanted to know all of it, but didn't want to be nosy. Just how out of the loop was she? Quite a bit, considering her brief respite from the hectic nature of being around humanity and instead seeking solace from alcohol.

"Mhm, me, my twin Roxas, and our older brother, Vanitas." He looked at her for a moment before he continued, "Who're you?"

Now she knew for sure why she got the nervous fluttery butterflies in her tummy. Ventus reminded her of Sora; it was family resemblance, just like Naminé with Kairi. But unlike with just appearance, their resemblance seemed far less superficial. She could recognize that boyish smile on him anywhere, the same lopsided one that Sora often wore, and although smoother, designed to charm, he did have that same, outgoing, extroverted personality that drew Kairi to Sora, everyone to him really, like moths to a flame.

"Naminé Fair…I'm… do you know Kairi?" Ventus nodded, looking a tad uncomfortable. "I'm her cousin."

"Oh, no wonder you look like a blonde Kairi," he exclaimed, looking at her closely like he never noticed these details before. "So, you're the one living with Riku, huh? How is it? He's a bit of a flirt, isn't he?"

"You heard about me?"

Naminé chose not to address his hypocrisy since he flirted already quite a bit, though he probably hoped to get tips out of it. Ventus didn't try again after realizing that they had a mutual friend. Probably a sign that she didn't need to tip him an exorbitant amount for the sheer pleasure of his company.

She wondered how many people heard about her so far, and someone she didn't even know. She also wondered why he seemed so uncomfortable to hear Kairi's name. It seemed like the relationship between she and her friends was more complex than Kairi ever made it sound over the phone.

Somehow it made Naminé feel like she didn't know her cousin at all. Like Kairi suddenly became some faceless stranger.

"Yeah, close friend of Riku's. All us brothers are, really." He looked at Naminé a moment before he started smiling again. "He told me that he was getting a new roommate, Kairi's cousin. I was probably going to meet you eventually."

Bitterness marred his expression as he told her about being friends with Riku. Naminé suspected it had something to do with how he looked a bit uncomfortable when she asked if he knew Kairi.

"So, how do you like him so far?"

Naminé snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Ventus, seeming honestly interested to hear what she said. "He's nice… haven't seen much of him in the past week though. He got a huge nosebleed during my first day there and it was alarming." She looked a little glum when she said that and flushed. It probably wasn't important anyway. "It's… it probably seems stupid. But I wish we'd talk more. Even if he gets another nosebleed. But he's busy with work, so maybe after he's finished."

She didn't want him to think she had some stupid crush on Riku. Though for most girls, it'd be the sensible thing to do since if you couldn't get to the man directly, you had to get through by cruelly using his friend like a true businessman, not that she'd do something like that because she didn't like Riku.

But for someone who spent all her days in Traverse Town talking to no one, living with someone was a nice change. The longing to know her roommate, her first touch of human contact in a long time, grasped her heart. Like a Sudoku puzzle, she wanted to solve Riku, figure out what made him who he was. Unfortunately, Naminé took an incredible last place during a middle school competition of amateur Sudoku puzzles.

Thinking about the situation, made her think that she did a lot, became closer to him. It had to count for something, sticking tissues up his nose and stopping his bleeding, an experience she doubted many roommates had. Surely that meant she was worth knowing.

Or it meant he didn't want to show his face in front of her again. Even people like him had to get mortified sometime. Naminé swore she couldn't have been the only one embarrassed all the time.

"Yeah, his allergies act up a lot during this season," he divulged with a small hesitant laugh. "His nose gets really dry in the heat." Something hit her then, that he must have been lying. Still, it wasn't any of her business. Ventus frowned a moment before saying, changing the subject, "Despite all his over-friendliness, especially to girls, he clams up a bit if things get personal." He tried to gather his words before he rephrased it, "You know, he kind of keeps things at a distance sometimes."

Basically that sounded like, "So… he's avoiding me?"

The thought hurt, that she hadn't even done anything but she still managed to scare away people. Pretty much proved that no one in their right mind liked her. Naminé thought to get fifty cats and move to the countryside. She'd probably have more of a social life then instead of being borderline agoraphobic. Unless the cats avoided her too.

Ventus blushed a little, clearly telling her she hit the target with her remark. "Probably not intentionally, I mean, he's nice to you…" he trailed off, and then pointed to her hair, "but you do look a lot like Kairi, but blonde, like I said before. Don't if you know, but their breakup really wasn't the greatest."

Naminé looked at her clasped hands in her lap. Well that _sucked. _At least he could have avoided her over something she'd done so she could fix it. Nothing but cheap plastic surgery could fix this issue, and she had a feeling she'd come out after going under the knife looking rather unfortunate with her nonexistent income. Riku'd be avoiding her for a different reason altogether.

Right now, Riku avoided her for being a prototype Kairi, because she gave him bad memories, because she looked sort of like Kairi. Her luck astounded her.

Ventus furrowed his brows and then broke out into a huge smile before pulling her up onto her feet. "The only way to know is to approach him! Come on." He pulled her by the wrist to the second entryway into the office building. He called back, "Hey, Leon, I'm taking my break now! Tell Rox not to miss me!"

"You'd better be back in half an hour sharp or I'll kick your ass."

Naminé saw that the man who answered was a brunette with a scar running down his face. He looked incredibly sullen and horribly annoyed at Ventus' attitude. He looked like he belonged in a gang and seemed quite capable of kicking scrawny Ventus' ass.

"He can do it, Leon used to be in a gang!" Ventus whispered conspiratorially.

So, her completely baseless assumption turned out to be right, even though baseless assumptions based on what people looked was wrong. If she had made the same judgement about Riku though, she almost would have certainly been wrong.

That man seemed more like a vapid model at first glance than an editor. But conversations proved that he had quite a lot going on, that he was intelligent. They were kind of similar, she thought, at least in the fact that they bonded over certain problems on that first day. She still remembered it vividly and missed it.

Was she that sad to miss the company of someone she'd known about a week and exchanged less than ten words with after that first day? Naminé was beyond the point of feeling ashamed of that fact.

"Where're we going?" Naminé just asked, still disoriented from how fast Ventus moved her from the table to the entrance of the coffee shop.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? Sora, Riku and Vanitas all work in this building here." He gestured to the office building connected to the coffee shop. "And we're going to see Riku."

"B-but, wait!" Naminé tried to protest, but Ventus tugged her along anyway.

She didn't really want to approach Riku because then he'd just ignore her more after legitimately getting annoyed by her and her careless actions. A roommate who hated her ensured her getting kicked out and getting a crap flat in Hollow Bastion, to the point where she'd be forced to cry for her mother to help her and whisk her away back to Traverse Town.

Naminé _really _didn't want to cry for her mother to save her at the age of twenty-one.

Ventus clearly couldn't sense her sheer panic, even though Naminé turned as white as a sheet and struggled to even string a sentence together to voice her displeasure.

Naminé didn't even get her Vanilla Bean Latte, even though she spent all that time deciding.

* * *

"Why the hell are you working overtime when you've got a chick at home? You've got to get your priorities straight."

Riku groaned when he saw Vanitas standing in the doorway of his office. Out of all of Sora's brothers, Vanitas was the one without one ounce of shame. He also had his priorities entirely messed up and hit on just about every girl – a shameless womanizer. It made Riku a little sad, looking at him since he knew why.

That being said, even though the man was highly flawed in terms of character and acted downright rude sometimes (he really didn't have a filter between his mind and his mouth) he was also fiercely loyal towards his friends.

Even though Sora was his brother, he cussed the dude out for going out with Kairi because Riku, in his words, became "so fucking boring and gloomy." So maybe, he didn't entirely do it out of concern for Riku, but still, he did partially.

Riku knew he cared. He admitted it felt good to have someone yell at Sora a bit, even if back then, he'd been yelling at Vanitas a lot too.

"Fuck off, Van, I've got manuscripts to read," Riku said pointedly from his office chair. He gestured to the huge pile of papers on his desk, and the surface of his desk covered with little yellow sticky notes. "You're the one with messed up priorities."

He could've been pointing at anything though. His office was a pigsty, as he had to take his mess somewhere, if he didn't leave it at home. Remembering the last time he stuck around at home seemed distant. This was because of both his fear and his concern of not wanting to slip up and become one of those horror story roommates for Naminé.

He already had her sticking tissues up his nose because he bled like a moron. Not an attractive look at all. She probably felt grossed out looking at that, hell, he probably would feel the same way.

Vanitas snorted and strolled in like he owned the place. Leaning on the desk, now close to Riku, he raised an eyebrow. "You work? What kind of shit are you trying to pull? Seph isn't here, is he?" He looked around the room as if he'd see the frightening man pop out from anywhere. The man had skill if he had the ability to scare Vanitas. "If he's not, I don't know what you're doing. Sure, we have that catalogue coming up, but when don't we? These manuscripts are bullshit most of the time."

What he said made Riku frown. Perhaps usually, he wasn't the most diligent worker. But he got what he needed done when he needed to. Even though he enjoyed being an editor, some of the manuscripts sent to him did end up shit, just like he said. Really, he knew what he'd been trying to pull, but obviously Vanitas saw through him easily.

"They're not that bad, they're pretty amusing," Riku protested weakly. "Some of them are… creative."

Vanitas swiped the first manuscript of Riku's desk and read a random section purposefully lowering the tone of his voice, "Annabelle looked at his expressive eyes and blonde hair like spun gold. He looked like Prince Charming, so yummy and delicious. She imagined his milky smooth skin touching hers, throwing him on a bed and ripping his clothes-"

"Shut up. You win."

"No, _you _win. It is amusing," he began. Riku looked at him like he was crazy before he continued, "Besides ruining every little girl's childhood by using a guy who looks like Prince Charming in what is essentially porn, it's amusing because it's so bad." He smirked too, obviously finding it funny. He waved the manuscript around a bit before exclaiming, "You can tell this agent's being paid a fortune to submit this to us."

Vanitas hit the nail on the head with that point. Riku could tell with what he read. No one could submit to their publishing company without an agent acting for them. Usually the agent only accepted pay in the form of a fee from the author's initial check if the company said it was good enough to get published.

But some agents, usually the ones close to hitting rock bottom with their careers, allowed people to pay them an actual hard cash amount so they'd submit to the company. The wealthy people who wanted to publish paid their agent a fortune. They didn't like the work. Neither did the company. But they got awful manuscripts to read and Riku found it obvious to tell people paid them out to submit their work.

"Yeah, probably. Or the agent was drunk when they agreed," Riku agreed, taking one more look at 'Annabelle Bewitched'. He felt like puking.

"So, why're you here doing this shit instead of going home? You've got a girl living with you. Unless you've suddenly turned gay on me – I don't have an issue with it if you did," Vanitas said, looking at his clearly exhausted friend. "Or if she's ugly."

"Bi, Vanitas," Riku corrected.

"Knew it. So, you like Sora then? Damn is my baby brother popular," Vanitas teased, clearly going out of his way to piss Riku off. "Or wait, you like me, don't you? Being all coy and shit. I knew you liked me, and I don't blame you. Can't criticize fine taste."

"Idiot." Riku rolled his eyes.

Thankfully he was used to dealing with Vanitas. He leaned back in his chair and thought over what Vanitas said. Naminé was cute, but she did remind him a little too much of Kairi in the looks department.

Maybe that's why he avoided her. He didn't want to bring up those old memories of being with Kairi, missing her, right when he started to recover a bit. Just thinking about what happened between them made his head and heart hurt.

Riku wondered if he did the right thing by evading Naminé. She always cooked dinner for him, without fail, and left it there for him with a cute sticky note when he got home late telling him to work hard. Then the guilt bubbled in his stomach.

He wanted to talk to her, but he never wanted to admit acting like a coward for more than just his mortification that she stuck tissues up his nostrils. Just because she looked like Kairi, didn't mean she acted the same. He saw the differences. Unlike Kairi, Naminé wore simple clothes, didn't talk as much, didn't smile as much, but exuded this comforting aura that relaxed him and made him want to spill his problems. Naminé talked when she needed to though, just like on that first night.

That didn't mean he could fully get over the similarities in their appearances though, even if he recognized them as different. That made him feel more guilty. She already seemed insecure. He had to see her for herself.

"Thinking about her, aren't you." Riku looked up and Vanitas smirked. "She must be a real babe. Kind of want to meet her."

"You just want to do her. Fuck that, I'm going to protect my roommate," Riku vowed, glaring at his friend.

Vanitas did act like a horny bastard sometimes.

"Yeah, I'll go _fuck that_," Vanitas said, finding all the sexual innuendo rather funny.

Riku just glowered at him.

Scratch that, Vanitas acted like a horny bastard _all the time_.

Vanitas opened his mouth, when the door to his office flew open. Alarmed, Riku looked to the doorway, only to find who they'd been speaking about. And Ventus for some reason looking jolly as Santa Claus did when about to deliver presents on Christmas.

Naminé on the other hand, just looked horribly uncomfortable.

But cute, and that caused Vanitas to turn up the charm a couple notches to emit some pheromones. It disgusted Riku just looking at him.

* * *

Naminé looked inside the office and nearly dropped her jaw in shock. His office looked nothing like the condo did – it was so disorganized and messy, not _gross_ but still incredibly cluttered. And not just with work either. While the table had stacks upon stacks of paper, all covered in yellow post-its, and the cabinets had designer action figures of superheroes, which Naminé found surprising in itself, old books lay on the ground (mostly comic books and other kiddy things she hadn't expected someone like him to read) scrap sheets of paper he doodled comics on (with artfully done stick men), an old pair of socks, as well as a gym bag with clothes half falling out.

Dear god, she saw Calvin Klein boxer-briefs peeking out of there…

Riku's friend who stood beside his desk, holding a manuscript, looked a lot like Sora, but with dark hair.

Somehow, even if he was good-looking, she didn't want to go near him at all (even though Naminé didn't want to go near good-looking people, ever). It was like he had a giant sign on him warning people that he had a sleazy personality.

Riku grimaced, as if he knew what she just thought.

"Who've we got here? A lost kitten?" Vanitas asked, completely honed in on Naminé and Naminé alone. Somehow she had a feeling that this guy was way worse than Riku. He almost backed her to the wall and then smirked haughtily. He stroked her cheek lightly with the tips of his fingers. Naminé's cheeks heated up and she knew he felt it. "You, me," he pointed to each of them, before he leant down to Naminé's ear and whispered, "my place tonight."

Apparently he didn't whisper quietly enough because both Riku and Ventus heard him and glared. The latter dashed forward and pulled Vanitas off Naminé by the scruff of his collar. Naminé didn't know that something like that could even happen to her. She paled, and those irritating butterflies started in her stomach, except instead of the pleasant heat that usually pooled in her stomach, she wanted to puke.

"Fuck off, Vanitas. You're making her uneasy. Stop being such a creep." Ventus held onto Vanitas tightly, and the other looked displeased.

Vanitas? As in, Sora's brother? Well, Naminé felt like an idiot now, since he pretty much looked like Sora's clone. The only difference being that Sora was infinitely a better person to be around, obviously. Vanitas seemed like the type of person to avoid in a bar, if only since he was so shameless. Naminé suspected he hadn't needed tact since most girls melted when presented with his 'charm'.

"It's not being creepy if it works," Vanitas responded bluntly, breaking out of Ventus' hold. He smirked at his brother. "What, you jealous you actually have to try?"

Ventus looked peeved to deal with him. Naminé couldn't say she blamed him. She couldn't imagine having the patience to deal with someone like Vanitas every day. He reminded her too much of an alcoholic, womanizing frat boy going wild at all times of day. Imagining life with Vanitas as a roommate caused her to shudder.

She assumed he did have good points considering he was Sora's brother. But that was a big maybe.

Complaining served no purpose when she struck lucky with Riku as a roommate, even if he'd obviously been lying about being a neat person, judging by his office.

"You're not trying anything with my roommate," Riku said firmly, getting out of his seat and looking straight at Vanitas.

Vanitas glanced her over appreciatively. "You do have a roommate worth going home for. You're an idiot for working all the time when you're a slacker normally."

"Well basically, I brought her here to resolve that. Seemed pretty worried 'cause Ri likes avoiding people like the plague sometimes," Ventus explained, completely glossing over Vanitas' shamelessness yet again.

Did he have skill or what? Naminé wanted him to teach her how to completely look past Vanitas' inappropriate comments. She imagined she'd become a changed woman if she accomplished not getting embarrassed. She'd be like Kairi then, outgoing, talking to more people, and completely able to look past some guy who wanted to see her squirm (probably _under him_ too, disgustingly enough). See, even though Naminé was shy, she still understood when someone flirted, or when someone wanted in her pants when her pants didn't want them there.

But she couldn't voice that it made her uncomfortable because she stuttered and blushed and looked pointedly at the ground. People assumed she didn't understand anything. Sometimes, Naminé wished to be more of a femme fatale like Kairi.

Last time some idiot at the bar tried to inch his hands up her skirt, she threatened the man by calling the police.

Naminé imagined Riku and Sora probably liked that about her, which meant that Naminé probably annoyed the crap out of them for acting so absurdly different.

"I'm not avoiding anyone, I'm working," he deadpanned, pointing at the stacks of paper on his desk. "Why does everyone conveniently ignore that?"

"You, working? The world's ending." Ventus shared a look with Vanitas.

"I agree."

Naminé suspected that the look on Riku's face indicated that those two didn't agree very often. She didn't have an opinion, but it hurt to think that he worked just to avoid her.

"I can choose to start now," Riku answered them with a frown. He looked at Vanitas and said, "Meanwhile you should stop harassing Naminé. You're skipping about a billion steps in any normal relationship."

Naminé looked at Riku and thought back to the first day she moved in and remembered she thought the same thing. Thoughtlessly she said, "I did the same with Riku."

Riku stared at her, a little flushed, and shocked. Vanitas and Ventus just looked at her blankly. Naminé only realized then what she said now. She insinuated she had a sexual relationship – what she _didn't _have. With Riku. When she said she wouldn't.

"No, no, I didn't mean it that way!" Naminé protested when she saw their expressions, but they completely ignored her.

"So you _are_ banging her then?" Vanitas asked bluntly, turning to Riku who actually looked sort of flustered.

Expressions exhibiting nothing but embarrassment when she said such a thing didn't deflect suspicion.

"Dude, already?" Ventus whistled, looking from Riku to Naminé with a grin on his face.

Naminé wanted to die due to her mortification at that point.

"I didn't mean it that way! I meant that I moved in and stuck tissues up his nose when he bled which was kind of embarrassing. Normally people who don't know each other don't do that, and it's really, really awkward being stuck with Kairi's ex even though I'm trying!" Naminé blurted, covering her face with her hands.

She felt the heat radiate off her cheeks and wanted to be anywhere but there. She wondered why she always got herself into these situations. She always embarrassed herself, said something without thinking of the consequences, and now they'd all talk about her nonexistent sex life with her roommate until the topic was completely exhausted.

Peeking through the gaps between her fingers after noticing the silence, she looked at Ventus and Vanitas who looked a bit sad. And Riku who looked at the floor deep in thought.

Ventus grabbed Vanitas by the arm and pulled him out of the room. "I think you guys need to talk!"

"Wait, I haven't even gotten her number!" Vanitas protested, as Ventus dragged him away.

"Not important. Hey Riku, you should head home. Vanitas will take over your work."

"Wait, no I won't," Vanitas exclaimed, but his protests fell on deaf ears before they both disappeared down the hallway, bickering loudly.

Naminé didn't like how awkward it felt to be in a messy office with her roommate, and cousin's ex. He looked a little sad, and for some reason she felt sad too. And the silence after Vanitas and Ventus left, was suffocating. She took a few deep breaths to calm down, but couldn't inhale and exhale fresh air, with one look at Riku biting his lip.

She didn't like talking. Not about something that apparently seemed serious.

* * *

**Extra #01: How did I get suckered into this?**

Vanitas thought of himself as an unfortunate guy, especially because he had to do crap like this all the time. Somehow, his stupid brother Ventus actually got his way, and gave him all of Riku's stupid work to do. Ventus said it was punishment for hitting on Riku's roommate, Vanitas told him not to be jealous, and then Ventus got more pissed and shoved Cloud's work on him too.

Cloud didn't even know since he'd been asleep at his desk, snoring like a fucking pig with seasonal allergies.

Vanitas swore to god he would not be working through the huge pile of manuscripts on his desk.

He had other shit to do, like pub crawling, and seducing girls, both of which usually went hand in hand and were more important than reading shit like 'Annabelle Bewitched' or some other crap written by a horny girl who skipped all the important buildup and went straight to the sex in any story. So basically skipping about a billion steps in any normal relationship. So basically like him.

And he knew he was fucking awesome, but characters in books shouldn't have been written like him. At all.

Or Naminé, who implied she'd been banging Riku, even though Vanitas knew she didn't mean to. Letting her think that he did believe it was fun – to intentionally fuck with her. He smirked when he thought of how thoroughly flustered she was, trying to defend herself.

Determined, he dialed a couple numbers on his cellphone and held it to his ear. After a billion years of waiting, it was finally picked up and the voice on the other end said plainly, "Vanitas, what do you want now."

"It's unfair, Ventus got me to do Riku and Cloud's work, Seph!" Vanitas whined.

Really, he didn't want to resort to such lows, but he hoped he sounded cute and pitiful, like a kicked puppy or something, so that Sephiroth would take pity on him and tell him that not only would he have to do no work, he'd get his pay for doing nothing forever, a vacation to a fancy-shmancy hot spring with two tickets so he could bring any hot chick he wanted, and the right to boss Ventus around for an unspecified amount of time!

But thinking like that was kind of unrealistic. Last time he begged for something, Sephiroth merely glared at him and walked away. A while later he received a notice in his e-mail inbox demanding he work overtime.

"You were making yourself a nuisance again, were you not?" Sephiroth responded bluntly.

"No! I only wanted to get the number of Riku's new roommate and flirt a little. How's that bad?" Vanitas defended weakly.

"By flirt a little, you mean pin her against a wall so you could stick your filthy tongue down her throat and ask her to copulate with you, do you not?" Sephiroth continued, his voice getting frosty.

He didn't even bother pointing out how archaic the guy sounded because he was scared as shit. 'Copulate'? Pfft.

"W-Who told you?" Vanitas spluttered, trying to defend himself.

Shit, shit, shit, he knew. And when Sephiroth knew, that meant Vanitas was screwed. Vanitas wished he could claim something stupid like 'It's not what it looks like!' to him, but shit like that wouldn't work and it was exactly what it looked like, before Ventus pulled him off. Shit sucked real badly.

"Ventus told me all about it. I trust you will complete your work." Sephiroth hung up the phone after that.

Vanitas put down his phone. He stared at the stack of paper, and felt like crying, uncharacteristically. He got to work on it slowly and really felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. He hoped his brother regretted it when he saw his corpse in the office the next morning.

Maybe he'd play dead just scare the living piss out of him, for glorious revenge.


End file.
